In Carl Edwards’ first full-time season as a NASCAR Cup Series driver he wasted no time finding Victory Lane. In just his fourth start of the 2005 season, he picked up the very first Cup win of his career at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Up until the final lap, Edwards had led only eight laps that day. Greg Biffle — Edwards’ teammate at Roush Fenway Racing — and Jimmie Johnson had dominated the entire race — leading 307 of 325 laps.
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On the final lap, Edwards, who had been stalking Johnson’s No. 48 Chevrolet, went high off of Turn 4. The two were in a door-to-door drag race down the frontstretch with the advantage going to Edwards.
In the post-race celebration, NASCAR fans were introduced to Edwards’ signature celebration for the first time: The backflip. While Edwards didn’t stick the landing, it was impressive after 500 miles of white-knuckle driving and a last-lap pass for the ages.
Relive every high speed lap of the 2005 Golden Corral 500 in today’s Classic Race Replay.
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